New Delhi, India

An investigation conducted by the Commission of Railway Safety (CRS) has found that the train accident which took place in the Indian state of Odisha last month occurred after workers repairing the railroad barrier made faulty connections in the automated signalling system on the network. The probe also found “lapses at multiple levels” which led to the death of at least 293 people and injured more than 1000.

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Faulty wiring at location box

According to the report, the wires in the level-crossing location box were labelled incorrectly and remained undetected for years which not only led to a mix-up during maintenance work but also the accident could have been avoided if the red flags had not been ignored. 

The Indian Railways’ Signal and Telecommunication department has reportedly been found primarily responsible for the incident. 

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Additionally, the report also noted that the station master, a part of the operations department, was also said to have been responsible for not being able to detect the “abnormal behaviour” of the automated signalling system. 

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The CRS investigators also said that the first of the three collisions that occurred on June 2 was due to the recent repair work conducted at the signalling circuit to fix frequent problems at a nearby railroad, reported Reuters. 

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The signalling staff at the site which carried out the repair work on the day of the accident said they were “misled” by the wrong lettering on the terminal and the circuit which showed that the automated system which guides a train from one track to another or the “point” had been shifted in the past, as per Indian media reports citing the official findings. 

Since the location box where the wires were connected contained the wrong lettering, they indicated incorrect functions. The probe also found that the completion wiring diagram, which shows the technician the correct way of reconnecting the wires after maintenance work, was changed back in 2015 and was duly approved but the change of the labelling had not been done physically. 

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Additionally, this approved circuit diagram for replacing the electric lifting barrier at the level crossing gate 94 had not been given to the signalling staff which conducted the repair work on the day and led to “wrong wiring” by field supervisors.

What does the report recommend?

The report, submitted to the Indian Railway Board last week, also noted “lapses at multiple levels”, like the Signal and Telecommunication department, as well as non-compliance with standard operating procedures during the repair work. 

The CRS recommended updating the completion signalling wiring diagrams as well as other documents and the lettering of signalling circuits at the site. 

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It also suggests following standard procedures for signalling modification in the presence of an officer, besides sending a separate team for checking and testing updated signalling circuits and functions.

What happened on June 2?

According to the railway officials, Coromandel Express, which was travelling at a speed of around 128 kilometres per hour, met with an accident near Bahanaga Bazar station in Balasore, Odisha. The crash involved three trains – Yesvantpur-Howrah Superfast Express (12862), Shalimar-Chennai Central Coromandel Express (12841), and a goods train.

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Coromandel Express, which was supposed to continue on the main line, accidentally changed course and entered the loop line, on which a freight train laden with iron ore was already halted, and hit the goods train.

The crash was India’s worst rail disaster in two decades and led to the death of nearly 300 people and injured more than 1,000 people. 

(With inputs from agencies) 

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